September 29, 2025 — After a hectic year of trades that moved Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, the Chicago Bulls approached the 2025 offseason with a lighter touch. The front office focused on retaining key free agents, adding one rotation wing and inking its lottery pick while keeping future cap flexibility intact.
Key free-agent agreements
Josh Giddey re-signed on a four-year, $100 million contract using Bird rights. The deal is fully guaranteed, carries no incentives or options and features a flat $25 million annual cap hit.
Tre Jones returned on a three-year, $24 million pact that includes a team option in the final season.
Minimum-salary Exhibit 10 contracts were handed to Caleb Grill, Mouhamadou Gueye and Wooga Poplar. Grill and Poplar were later waived.
Trades
- Acquired the draft rights to Lachlan Olbrich (No. 55 pick) and $2.5 million in cash from the Lakers for the rights to No. 45 selection Rocco Zikarsky.
- Obtained Isaac Okoro from the Cavaliers in exchange for Lonzo Ball.
2025 draft
No. 12 pick Noa Essengue signed a four-year rookie-scale contract worth $25,333,943. Olbrich accepted a two-way contract.
Two-way additions
The Bulls filled all three two-way slots with Olbrich, Yuki Kawamura and Emanuel Miller, each on one-year deals carrying $85,300 in partial guarantees. Guard Jahmir Young was waived from his two-way slot.
Current cap picture
Chicago is operating over the $154.6 million cap at roughly $174.3 million in salary, remaining below the $187.9 million luxury tax line. The club is hard-capped at $195,945,000 and still holds its full $14.104 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, $5.134 million bi-annual exception and a $6.186 million traded-player exception.
Roster outlook
Giddey and Jones re-signings create a crowded backcourt that also includes Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and Jevon Carter. Trading Ball for Okoro balanced the rotation by adding a wing defender with two guaranteed seasons left on his deal. Chicago now carries 15 guaranteed contracts along with three two-way players.
Several veterans — Kevin Huerter, Zach Collins, Nikola Vucevic, White, Dosunmu and Carter — are on expiring deals for 2025-26, leaving the club more than $90 million in potential expirings for next summer.
Extension watch
The front office can discuss extensions with White, Dosunmu, Vucevic, Dalen Terry, Huerter and Collins. White, who averaged 20.4 points last season, is eligible for a maximum of roughly $87 million over four years but has indicated he will test free agency. Dosunmu is considered the most likely extension candidate; his next deal is projected below the same $87 million ceiling.
The Bulls enter training camp with their roster largely set and all three two-way spots filled, leaving the focus on potential in-season extensions and evaluating their large group of expiring contracts.
Source: Hoops Rumors
